Tag: David George

A Fickle Fantasy: Week 1

We are still working some of the kinks out of fantasy basketball because the uneven schedule means not every player has two games each weekend. We decided that those cases are like a bye week for football. The lineups are set before Friday and can’t be changed during the weekend.

Also, a clarification on the scoring. Since this is rotisserie style (lame chicken jokes are always in fashion), this week’s stats merely go towards the running total as the year goes on. A point scored this weekend counts the exact same as one scored in the final week.

Alright, so after some back and forth about who we could start, here is what we both settled on.

Lord of the ‘CAC (Adam) Lin and Tonic (Joe)
POS. Player Player
Guard G. Safford J. Lin
Guard D. Wohl L. Westman
Guard J. McCarthy L. Hausman
Forward D. Sinnickson C. Hudnut
Forward J. Swords Z. Pavlin
Forward A. Santos H. Merryman
Forward R. Epps D. George
Bench J. Brown H. Rooke-Ley
Bench M. Delpeche J. Starks
Bench S. Ajayi H. Sabety

The first weekend saw a couple of really notable performances from Dan Wohl ’15, David George ’17 and most of all Joseph Lin ’15. My team combined had the same number of assists (22) that Lin had by himself for Joe. Lin got some love from former teammate Matt Hart on Twitter, as well.

A strong number of assists from Luke Westman ’16 means Joe has a commanding lead in that category. However, the flip side of that is my massive lead in rebounding, 104-69.

The irony of those two categories is that Joe drafted big men early while I targeted guards. Yet, two of my guards, Wohl and Johnny McCarthy ’18, are talented rebounders, combining for 40 rebounds but only eight assists. The big lead for Joe in free throw percentage is in large part due to Wohl’s struggles down the stretch of the Trinity game.

Joe’s edge in efficiency (thanks to George and Westman) puts him in a slight lead after Week 1, but the big edge I hold in counting categories like blocks and three pointers made will be important over the long term. As the weeks go on, we will adjust our roster slightly to try to make up for the shortcomings of our roster.

Category Lord of the ‘CAC (Adam) Lin and Tonic (Joe) Category
Points 213 253 Joe
Assists 22 51 Joe
Rebounds 104 69 Adam
Steals 13 18 Joe
Blocks 19 6 Adam
FT% 68.1% (47/69) 80.6% (79/98) Joe
FG% 48.4% (76/157) 51.9% (84/162) Joe
3PT Made 18 6 Adam

Overall Score: 5-3 Lin and Tonic

Time to Invest: Stock Report 1/12

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What a weekend in the NESCAC. Could you have asked for a better first night of contests? Of the five games played on Friday night, four were decided by six points or less. Williams-Trinity went into double OT. A missed call by refs in Lewiston helped Bates to the win over Middlebury. Wesleyan had three shots from deep in the final seconds to tie the game against Colby but missed all of its attempts. And Connor Green ’16 came out of hibernation to lead Amherst to a victory over Hamilton, aided by the best offensive night of David George’s ’17 young career. The second round of conference games was only slightly less exhilarating, as Williams and Amherst played yet another classic and Tufts pulled a major upset over the suddenly suspect Middlebury Panthers. Suffice to say, Week 1 of the NESCAC season did not disappoint.

Stock Up

1. David George ’17

The Amherst big man is respected around the league for his defense, but he turned up his offensive game this weekend, scoring 29 points against Hamilton and 18 against Amherst, his highest totals of the season (the latter matching an 18-point performance in late December). George was 16-20 (80 percent) from the field and 15-19 (78.9 percent) from the stripe. Amherst is already one of the highest-scoring teams in the NESCAC. If George can be a consistent weapon on the offensive end while still maintaining his level of play on defense, Amherst will be dangerous and we could be witnessing the maturation of a future NESCAC POY candidate.

2. Colby Mules

Sure, they only beat the Wesleyan Cardinals by two and their nine-point win over the 7-6 Conn College Camels isn’t all that impressive, but for a team that came into the weekend barely over .500 getting to Monday with a 2-0 conference record is all one could ask for. This is a team with a lot of potential, which we’ve talked about before. For the second year in a row Coach Damien Strahorn is leaning heavily on his 2016 class, and they all played great this weekend. Last year the Mules could make the excuse that they were still young, but now that the core of this team is in its third year, they need to start getting the results. Maybe this was the first step towards accomplishing that.

3. Tufts’ Guard Play

We raved about the Tufts’ front court before the season started, but with Hunter Sabety ’16 out yesterday the Jumbos dominated Middlebury. Coach Bob Sheldon shook up the starting lineup, inserting Drew Madsen ’16, Ryan Spadaford ’16 and Thomas Lapham ’18, and no one responded better than the usual starting point guard, Tarik Smith ’17. Smith went 5-7 from the field, 2-2 from deep and 8-8 from the line for 20 points, netted two steals and only turned the ball over twice in 28 minutes. Against one of the NESCAC’s best one-on-one defensive guards in Jake Brown ’17, Smith was able to penetrate and cause havoc. Ben Ferris ’15, who just hasn’t been his old self on offense this year, had eight points, but they all seemed to come at big moments. Newcomer Vinny Pace ’18 showed some impressive touch inside and creative moves as he added eight points, and Stephen Haladyna ’16, another usual starter relegated to the bench, chipped in 11 points in his second-best shooting night of the year, percentage-wise. Tufts is still 5-7 overall, but 1-0 in the games that count the most.

Stock Down

1. Middlebury Panthers

You had to see this one coming. A few days after we gave them the top spot in our composite power rankings, they go and do something like this, losing a tight game to Bates and them getting blown out on Sunday against Tufts. As was noted on Twitter, basically the entire Middlebury roster was fairly ill on Friday night, so much so that there were rumors (the accuracy of which we will never know) that the game might be moved to another date, so props to them for gutting it out and making it a close game, but I don’t think we can say that, two days later, sickness was the reason that the Jumbos stomped them by 17 points. I don’t see this weekend as being indicative of a problem in the future, and I still think Middlebury can and will compete for a NESCAC title. But, I would be concerned that some of the negative attitude that seemed to creep up on the Panthers last season could resurface. I hope I’m wrong.

2. John Swords ’15

Maybe a bit of a surprising pick, because Swords certainly didn’t play badly this weekend, but as I noted in the power ranks last week, Bowdoin needs Swords to be a force if they are going to make it back to the NCAA tournament, and 17 points in 60 minutes of play isn’t going to cut it. Swords was pretty much his typical self in the rebounding and blocks categories, and still discourages anyone from setting foot in the paint with the ball, but I was banking on Swords elevating his game for the NESCAC season. Consider this a challenge, Mr. Swords.

3. Jayde Dawson ’18

The Fairleigh-Dickinson transfer came to Amherst with big expectations at the beginning of the season, and at this point we can probably assume that those expectations were a little bit too much to put on Dawson right away. After a couple nice games in a row, Dawson got one point, two rebound and zero assists in just 16 minutes in the Lord Jeffs’ biggest game of the season against rival Williams. Much like Michigan-Ohio State, in order to be one of the greats at Amherst, you have to beat Williams, and it seems like Dawson wilted under the bright lights. But, if last year was any indication, there’s a good chance that these teams meet again before the season is over, so Dawson should get a shot at redemption.

Someone Get Us a Water: Friday Wrap-up and Saturday Preview

The best sports weekend of the year is the first two rounds (it will always be the first two rounds no matter what the NCAA tries to say) of March Madness. Last night felt like March because of a trio of fantastic finishes. Bates-Middlebury, Colby-Wesleyan, and Williams-Trinity all came down to the final minute, and the latter two games came down to the final seconds. We will wait until after the weekend is over to really go in-depth on any type of analysis or recaps of games because Saturday is sure to bring another heaping of crazy.

Bowdoin 77 over Conn College 48: The game became a runaway at the end, and Bowdoin was in control of the game pretty much the entire way. The rout is a very solid result for Bowdoin, of which you can read the recap of on the Bowdoin website.

Bates 57 over Middlebury 53: A very physical well-fought game saw Middlebury fight through a near team-wide stomach bug, but Bates was too strong on the interior. Both teams shot poorly from the field. The Bobcats held serve at home, something that they need to do. Here is the recap on Bates website

Amherst 93 over Hamilton 86: The Jeffs overwhelmed a very game Continentals team. It took a great shooting night from the outside and a career high 29 points from David George ’17 to secure a quality victory on the road. Joseph Lin ’15 had an incredible 16 assists and 1 turnover in the loss. Here is the recap.

Colby 82 over Wesleyan 80: A very enjoyable back and forth game saw Colby come back from 9 down in the second half to open up conference season with a big road win. After we said his matchup with Rashid Epps ’16 was a “mismatch”, Sam Willson ’16 made us look like idiots with a game high 26 points. Colby has a full recap up.

Trinity 71 over Williams 69: This was the game of the night as it took two overtimes to settle it. Williams rallied from 16 down in the second half to take the game to overtime. Jaquann Starks carried the Bantams with 21 points. A full recap on the madness that went down is here.

Alright so onto Saturday. Four games on tap today. Every single game has a 1-0 team facing off with a 0-1 team meaning that there is the possibility for either chaos if a bunch of those 0-1 teams win today. Here is the briefest of run downs on what you can expect from each one.

1. Williams is now in a hole 0-1 with Amherst coming to town. The Ephs short rotation will likely make the effects of their double overtime even more perverse. Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 is out with an injury to his hand for three weeks. How the Ephs handle the first big Amherst run is huge. Besides that, everything we wrote about before the games Friday about this matchup also still holds.

2. Wesleyan knows they were in position to beat Colby, and they can’t afford to lose to both games at home this weekend. Now they need to beat Bowdoin who played their most complete game of the season last night. Both teams lean heavily on their starting five. This will be a much lower scoring game than the Wesleyan-Colby one yesterday.

3. Trinity at Hamilton may not scream excitement, but this is a mildly intriguing undercard. The Continentals were balanced and calm on offense yesterday against Amherst. They will not be fazed by the physical play of Trinity. The Bantams have to not have a let down game in Clinton, a place notoriously hard to win at. Hamilton went 4-1 at home in conference last season.

4. Colby opened conference play in 2013-2014 with a similar win over Wesleyan before stumbling and losing their next four conference games. Colby has to take care of business at Conn College. The Mules are unlikely to shoot 56.9% from the field like they did last night, but they also overcame 15 turnovers. Conn needs to shoot the ball better than the 4-20 performace they had last night.

Kevin App Has Williams Prepared for NESCAC Play

Dan Wohl '15 has emerged as a star as Williams tries to keep the standard represented by the banners behind him. (Courtesy of WritingScots.Wordpress.Com
Dan Wohl ’15 has emerged as a star as Williams tries to keep the standard represented by the banners behind him. (Courtesy of WritingScots.Wordpress.Com)

Editors Note: Adam Lamont contributed to the Williams-Amherst preview

After starting the year with back-to-back losses in the first year of the Kevin App regime, the Ephs have gone 9-1 in their last 10 games. That one loss was to #7 WPI by only two points. Now that it has come time for conference play to begin we wanted to highlight what has gone well and what has not so far for Williams.

Successes

1. The senior leadership of Dan Wohl ’15, Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15, and Ryan Kilcullen ’15: All three players have been averaging double digits which is huge for what is a very young team that got hit hard from graduation losses and Duncan Robinson transferring to Michigan. Wohl has increased his points per game by about seven and his rebounds per game by two. He has been the go to guy all year for the Ephs. Rooke-Ley’s success at getting to the charity stripe and converting there has been well documented all season as he is shooting a remarkable 94.2 percent there on 81-86 attempts. Kilcullen has seen dramatic increases in all of his stats due to increased floor time by increasing his points per game and rebounds per game by five.

2. Defense: Despite losing a lot of big defenders, the Ephs have managed to keep their points per game allowed at basically the same level as last season. Yes, they are allowing 72.0 PPG, the highest mark in the NESCAC, and at a nearly 42 percent clip, but that is actually lower than last year when the Ephs allowed 72.8 PPG and still made the National Championship. Because of their personnel Williams is at a disadvantage rebounding the ball, but their defense has been good enough for them to win. If they can maintain this level, they should be fine because the offense is so good.

Failures

1. Depth: Coach App has heavily relied on six players to eat up most of the minutes and sparingly used his bench in non-conference play to date except to give guys very brief rests. Williams under Coach Maker last year had a similar rotation set up and it worked. It will be interesting to see how Coach App decides to go forward with his use of players in conference play.

2. Turnovers: The Ephs as a team are averaging about three more turnovers per game than last year. In their three losses this year, they are averaging close to 17 turnovers per game compared to around 12 in their victories. Even though most of the rotation handles the ball well, the Ephs can force the issue too much at times.

3. Field Goal Percentage: While the three point shooting percentage has increased this year, overall the field goal percentage is about six points lower than last year. The loss of Michael Mayer ’14 in the post has robbed Williams of high percentage shots inside. If the Ephs are going to be as successful as last year, they need to manufacture a way to get higher percentage shots in NESCAC play.

Weekend Outlook

The Ephs did not get any favors in the opening weekend of NESCAC play drawing the Trinity Bantams at home on Friday and the 18th-ranked Amherst Lord Jeffs at home on Saturday. Both teams should be competing for home games in the NESCAC playoffs.

Trinity presents an interesting challenge for the Ephs as they have a very tight defense that packs the paint and also forces a lot of steals. Williams has been turning the ball over heavily in their losses and if Trinity’s defense can knock it away from the Ephs, I think the Ephs need to watch out. This game is a battle of styles as Trinity wants to slow the game and make it a grind while Williams prefers a more wide open flowing game. Interesting to see if the Ephs are caught looking ahead to the marquee matchup vs. Amherst and possibly have a slip up against Trinity.

Now to the game the whole league is looking at, Amherst vs. Williams. These two teams had great battles last year both in the NESCAC and NCAA tournament and all NESCAC fans are lucky that we get to see these two heavyweights go at it in the first conference weekend. Both teams came into the year with lofty expectations (perhaps too lofty) after making it to the Final Four but have underperformed relative to them. The massive losses of talent on both teams has hit them hard.

For the Ephs it starts with the captain Wohl. He is the go to guy for them and he’s still improving. He has scored more than 20 points in each of the last four games. If the Ephs are going to win, it rests on his shoulders along with fellow sharpshooter Rooke-Ley. They have relied on both these guys all season so expect the same to happen against Amherst. Although the Ephs defense has been performing at the same level as last year, it’s still currently the worst ranked defense by points per game. Their defense could be a huge issue as Amherst has numerous threats on the court led by stud newcomer Johnny McCarthy ’15.

Williams will be playing with a huge disadvantage in size against Amherst. The Lord Jeffs have so many talented big men like 6’8″ David George ’17 and 6’8″ Jacob Nabatoff ’17 that Coach Dave Hixon has changed his rotation and kept two big men on the court at most times. The Ephs already struggle on the boards, and the Jeffs are formidable all across their lineup in terms of height. Kilcullen needs to be able to at least slow down Amherst in the paint. App might have to resort to a zone in order to alleviate the height difference and force the Amherst guards to make shots from the outside.

Dan Aronowitz ’17 is the other crucial piece for Williams inside. He is an undersized power forward, yet he could present a major matchup problem for Amherst because of his ability to shoot from the outside and slash to the basket.

On the Amherst side, life after Aaron Toomey ’14 has not been completely smooth. The Jeffs have had to pull out a lot of close games in order to get to 8-2, but their win on Tuesday at #21 Eastern Connecticut gives the team a lot of confidence coming into the weekend. The point guard position is unsettled as neither transfer Jayde Dawson ’18 nor Reid Berman ’17 have really claimed the position. Though Dawson has started every game, he does not look comfortable running the offense and does not do a great job of getting others involved with only 2.4 assists per game. Berman is more reliable but defenses know he does not like to shoot and lay off of him. Toomey is back with the team as an assistant coach starting this weekend after an injury ended his season in Spain. Maybe his presence will help the point guard play.

The one upperclassman on Amherst, Connor Green ’16, has been a major disappointment to many. After he averaged 17.9 points in 2013-2014, we expected him to take another step and compete for the league lead in scoring. Instead, he has dropped down to 13.2 PPG and seen his shooting percentages take a dive. Green is taking harder shots and is only making 29.3 percent of his threes. Those feeling better about Williams than Amherst can point to the divergence in play between Green and Wohl as a major reason. The freshman McCarthy and Jeff Racy ’17 supply most of the outside shooting.

Though Hixon has started the same starting five every game, the Jeffs do not seem like a finished product. They certainly look physically like the best team in the NESCAC, but there has yet to be a game where they play like they are capable of. This Williams-Amherst game does not have the stars of last season, but the talent level on both rosters is still very high. It is still too early to know whether this is a crucial conference clash or merely one of the many steps in shuffling out the conference hierarchy. What we can be sure of is that as always, the two teams will bring us plenty of fun.

Composite Power Rankings 1/9

Hunter Merryman '15 and Middlebury are the cream of the crop, for now. (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)
Hunter Merryman ’15 and Middlebury are the cream of the crop, for now. (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

As NESCAC season swiftly approaches tonight, we decided to get some of our staff members involved in this week’s power rankings. Everyone should feel pretty comfortable about the top team, but after that there was a huge amount of disagreement through the middle of the ranks which, I believe, is a testament to the depth in the league this season. On the other hand, it is probably also a result of a lot of impressive records against mediocre competition. That being said, the NESCAC continues to be one of the best Division-III hoops leagues in the nation, and we don’t see that changing any time soon.

Team Average AD SM AL JM PL
Midd 1.4 2 2 1 1 1
Amherst 2.6 1 1 4 5 2
Bates 3.4 6 3 3 2 3
Williams 4.2 3 6 2 4 6
Trinity 5.2 5 4 7 6 4
Wesleyan 5.6 4 5 5 7 7
Bowdoin 6.8 9 8 6 3 8
Hamilton 7.4 7 7 9 9 5
Colby 8.6 8 10 8 8 9
Conn 10 10 9 11 10 10
Tufts 10.8 11 11 10 11 11

(Contributors to the rankings: AD = Adam Dulsky; SM = Sean Meekins; AL = Adam Lamont; PL = Pete Lindholm)

1. Middlebury (9-0)

Adam, Pete, and I agree that the Panthers appear to be the class of the ‘CAC this season. Has this team returned to the level that the program was at from 2008-2013 when it lost 18 games over the course of five seasons? Probably not. I think that if Ryan Sharry, Andrew Locke, Nolan Thompson and the rest of the 2010-11 squad walked into Pepin in their prime they would dispatch the current edition of the Panthers with relative ease. But this team is no pushover, and in what appears to be a slightly down year for the usual suspects in Amherst and Williams, Middlebury could just grab its third NESCAC title.

For me personally, this ranking was less about the 9-0 record than the fact that I’ve felt since the preseason that this was a championship-worthy roster, and with the promising early season play of a few youngsters and the recent return of Matt Daley ’16, this team is only getting stronger.

2. Amherst (8-2)

Amherst and Williams will always gain respect just based on the name, but this team looks pretty good on the floor in its own right. In watching Amherst back in early December, we had some concerns about their perimeter defense.

Amherst is still allowing too many points per game (eighth in the NESCAC with 67.2), but NESCAC Rookie of the Year candidate Johnny McCarthy ’18 is a defensive force, leading the NESCAC in steals per game to date, and David George ’17 is still fantastic at discouraging points at the rim, so it’s curious that the Lord Jeffs have allowed so many points. What they are great at, though, is scoring. When they match up with our number one team, Middlebury, it will be a must-watch just for the ability of everyone involved to put the ball in the hoop.

3. Bates (9-2)

I like Bates more than most at this point in the season. Am I just jumping on the hype train? Maybe. But it seems like senior leader Graham Safford ’15 has elevated his game both on the stat sheet and in terms of his intangibles, and has really become a Kizel/Toomey type of transcendent player. In terms of numbers, he has improved on his field goal and three point percentages while also racking up almost two more assists per game. I think Safford leads the Bobcats deep into the NESCAC tournament.

4. Williams (9-3)

I know Ephs’ fans are sick of hearing it, but imagine if they still had Duncan Robinson. That would be scary. Even without Robinson, Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 and Dan Wohl ’15 are just filling it up. Both are above 19.0 points per game. Rooke-Ley is like Ray Allen from the line right now, which you should read more about here. Wohl is not only one of the league’s best sharp shooters, but the 6’6″ guard/forward leads the league in defensive rebounds. The one thing this team lacks is depth, as six players chew up most of the minutes for first-year coach Kevin App. Perhaps to say that the team lacks depth is the wrong way to word it, because a lot of those bench guys could get big minutes elsewhere around the league, but it could cause a problem if one of the Ephs’ stars were to go down with an injury because his replacement would lack experience. Take Rooke-Ley for example, who was only able to play 10 minutes in Williams’ last game against Endicott because of a minor injury. Unfortunately, Rooke-Ley has a long injury history at Williams, so we have to hope that nothing more serious materializes for the senior.

5. Trinity (10-2)

With the Bantams it comes down to whether or not you believe that this uptick in scoring is for real, or if they will return to their anemic offensive ways once the competition stiffens up. I think they will regress some, but Jaquann Starks ’16 is a much better offensive player than he was last year, as is Shay Ajayi ’16, someone I thought could break out for the Bantams before the season began. I think this middle of the pack prediction is pretty accurate, and I could see them stealing a game in the NESCAC tournament on the road.

6. Wesleyan (10-2)

As we mentioned a few days ago, Wesleyan is off to an historic start to the season.

Guard Harry Rafferty ’17 has become less of a distributor and more of a scorer, leading the Cardinals in points per game. He and Jack Mackey ’16 make for a scary three-point duo. Rashid Epps ’16 has continued his maturation, averaging nearly a double-double so far this season, and Joseph Kuo ’17 is a force inside, turning away more than one shot per game. There’s a lot of experience on this roster, so even though this level of success is new to this Cardinals’ roster, they should be able to stay competitive throughout conference play.

7. Bowdoin (8-3)

I ranked Bowdoin much higher than the rest of the crowd. Even Lamont, a Polar Bear himself, had Bowdoin down a few notches more than I did. But this is a team with NCAA tournament experience, and I think the presence of John Swords ’15 gives them a chance to win any game, on top of the continued strong play of point guard Bryan Hurley ’15, who I think will continue to get better and more comfortable as he gets further away from the knee surgery that kept him out for most of last season.

8. Hamilton (10-2)

Hamilton fans aren’t going to like this one. The Continentals are 10-2 and we have them ranked eighth? Well the fact of the matter is that as much as we’ve talked about soft early season schedules for NESCAC teams this year, Hamilton might take the cake. Their best win came at home by just four points to 8-5 Lycoming. Joseph Lin ’15, Peter Kazickas ’15 and Ajani Santos ’16 have all taken huge steps forward this season, but there’s not much production coming after the starting five.

9. Colby (7-5)

It will hurt me if this team fails to make the playoffs, both because they are fun to watch and I have a few personal connections to the team. But they just don’t play any defense, which is key in conference play. Opponents are shooting 41.5 percent from the floor against the Mules, and Colby has the second-worst rebounding margin in the NESCAC. They really miss power forward Patrick Stewart ’16 and the defensive presence he helped bring besides Chris Hudnut ’16. If they can’t remedy these issues then they can say good bye to their chances of playing into late February.

10. Conn College (7-4)

Conn has actually bounced back well statistically from the graduation of Matt Vadas ’14, as the Camels are averaging 71.9 points per game, actually up from last year’s 69.3 points per game. But those points aren’t coming efficiently at all, as Conn has the league’s worst shooting percentage. But be patient Camels fans. There are five first years getting double digit minutes, the team’s best player, Zuri Pavlin ’17, is but a sophomore, and Bryan Gross ’15, currently getting under 10 minutes per game, is the only senior on the roster. So there will be better times ahead.

11. Tufts (4-7)

What can we say about the Jumbos this season? Despite so much potential before the year began, exactly what we feared might happen has come to fruition. Like in years past, Tufts just can’t put the pieces together. Last year it was injuries to Tom Palleschi ’17 and Ben Ferris ’15. This year it’s simply ineffectiveness. Guys that formerly were money from beyond the arc have completely lost the ability to hit threes, Ferris looks like a shell of his Rookie of the Year Award-winning self, Palleschi is still shaking off the rust and it appears that coach Bob Sheldon can’t find a lineup he likes because almost the entire roster is getting into most games. The lone bright spot is the continued production of Hunter Sabety ’17. With him, Palleschi and guards Tarik Smith ’17, Stephen Haladyna ’16 and Vinny Pace ’18 back for 2015-16, the story will be the same next season. Loads of potential, but when will it come together for Tufts?

Ooops We Did it Again: NESCAC Fantasy Basketball

I am still mad about how the inaugural Nothing but NESCAC Fantasy Football Season ended. I mean Pete Lindholm treated his fantasy team like an unwanted puppy for most of the season before realizing that said puppy was actually cute as a button and would help him with girls. Of course, the only thing cute about Pete’s fantasy team was that Matt Milano ’16 decided to go all John McClane on me and almost beat my team single-handedly.

So how did I decide to overcome such trauma? Did I choose the honorable route and try to beat Pete at Fantasy Basketball?

No, I took the easy way out and simply made for certain that Pete would be unable to spoil basketball for me. Joe MacDonald and I partook in a fantasy draft last night without telling Pete, or any other members of our staff about it. Sorry Pete, but I already beat you, and the season hasn’t even started yet.

Okay so enough gloating about my Dr. Evil plan. Fantasy Basketball will work a little differently than football did because there are only two participants. First, only NESCAC conference games count towards fantasy. Second, the league will be scored rotisserie-style meaning that there are no weekly matchups. Rather, there are eight categories: FG Percentage, FT Percentage, Three Pointers Made, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Blocks, and Points. At the end of the season whoever wins each category gets a point. So whoever wins more categories wins the league. Finally, the roster is simple: three guards, four forwards, and three bench players. Rosters can change every week. Waivers switch every week back and forth. After the first weekend Joe gets first priority and then next weekend I get first priority.

Every week we will update you on our progress. Here is a rundown of the draft.

First Round

Adam: Forward Dylan Sinnickson ’15: “Since Sinnickson is near the top of the NESCAC in rebounds and points despite playing so few minutes, I expect his numbers to be even higher in conference play. He does not get a lot of assists, but I think I will be able to make up that difference elsewhere.”

Joe: Forward Chris Hudnut ’16: “With the top pick I wanted an all-around player, and Hudnut is just that. He excels in multiple categories, i.e. points, field goal percentage and rebounds, and for a big man those 3.0 assists per game aren’t too shabby either.”

Second Round

Joe: Guard Luke Westman ’16: “I’m in love with efficiency, and no one is more efficient than Westman. It is truly amazing that a point guard can have a field goal percentage around the 70 percent mark. He’ll chip in some nice assists, too, with good rebound and steal totals as well. Also, both Adam and I played for his older brother in high school, and in one brief meeting with the younger Westman he made a good impression on me. You have to have good chemistry in fantasy basketball so that also factored into this selection.”

Adam: Guard Graham Safford ’15: “Go ahead and take Westman, young Joseph. I am more than content getting the best all-around guard in the ‘CAC. Safford averages more points, rebounds, and assists. Yes, Westman has a major edge in efficiency, but Westman is no guarantee to come through every game while Safford is a known warrior.”

Third Round

Adam: Guard Dan Wohl ’15: “While I am at it I might as well go get the other 1,000 point scorer in the NESCAC. Wohl has been overshadowed by others until this season, but he has shown himself to be fully capable of being the lead man offensively. I will gladly take his 19+ PPG.”

Joe: Guard Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15: “Even with the knowledge that Rooke-Ley played limited minutes in his last game due to injury, I was willing to take the risk for the current leading scorer in the NESCAC. He will be a boon not only in points, but also in three pointers and free throw percentage.”

Fourth Round

Joe: Forward Zuri Pavlin ’17: “Pavlin is another guy that I just love as a player, numbers aside. I had him pegged as a NESCAC First-Teamer before the season, and he’s making me look pretty smart by improving on his point and rebound numbers so far this season.”

Adam: Forward John Swords ’15: “His rebounding numbers are down a little but Swords is still a double-double machine. Throw in his ability to get multiple blocks in a game and he is a great fantasy player. Not to mention that he is incredibly efficient shooting 72.3 percent from the field.”

Fifth Round

Adam: Guard Johnny McCarthy ’18: “Joe made fun of me for picking my third guard so early saying that this pick makes my love affair with McCarthy official. Yes I am driving the McCarthy bandwagon, I am unabashed about that. Do not let that blind you to the fact he leads the league in steals and is gaining confidence every game offensively.”

Joe: Forward Hunter Merryman ’15: “I already had the best free throw shooter and the best shooting guard from the field, so I took the best long-range bomber in the ‘CAC in this round. That’s what this pick was about, getting buckets. Just like my man Hunter.”

Sixth Round

Joe: Forward Hunter Sabety ’17: “Sabety is just a slightly less productive version of my first pick, Hudnut, so I think this was a steal. Sabety is superior in field goal percentage and blocks but gives up a few points, rebounds and assists. Nonetheless I feel great about my front court at this point.”

Adam: Forward Rashid Epps ’16: “The numbers that Epps has put up this far are solid if not overwhelming, but I think Wesleyan leans on their best players more as conference play gets underway. That is exactly what Epps is so you can call this a gut pick if you’d like.”

Seventh Round

Adam: Guard Jake Brown ’17: “My starting lineup is still not filled out but I can’t pass on Brown. I mean how can I resist a stat line of 10 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals? His scoring will go up because teams will be unwilling to help off of the Middlebury shooters.”

Joe: Guard Joseph Lin ’15: “At this point I was looking for one more starting guard, and I found it in Lin. His primary contribution will come in assists, which I really felt I was lacking in.”

Eight Round

Joe: Forward David George ’17: “Back to the big men in round eight. Since this is a rotisserie league, there will be an opportunity to slot in George if I am losing close in blocks down the stretch, which could make the difference, and he’s an above average rebounder as well.”

Adam: Forward Shay Ajayi ’16: “Ajayi has gone through stretches of very good play and then also some stretches where he looks average. If he plays more consistently then this turns into a very good pick.”

Ninth Round

Adam: Forward Ajani Santos ’16: “First Ajayi, now Ajani. Santos’ numbers have actually tailed off significantly in recent games, but he is the most talented player on the Hamilton roster. At this point I can stash him on my bench and see if he can turn things around.”

Joe: Guard Lucas Hausman ’16: “I’m not convinced that Lin will keep up his numbers in conference play, so I decided to give myself some cushion with these next two picks. Hausman has improved tremendously on offense, and his 88.1 percent free throw percentage will off set some of my Shaquille O’Neal-like big men.

Tenth Round

Joe: Guard Jaquann Starks ’16: “Starks has been an astronomically better shooter this year than last, which makes up for the paltry 2.0 assists per game. But I can live with that if he’s going to keep pouring in buckets from all over the floor at his current clip.”

Adam: Forward Marcus Delpeche ’17: “This pick came down to Delpeche or Mike Boornazian ’16. Boornazian is a better all-around player, but Delpeche’s blocks and rebounds make him an intriguing player for me to grab this late.”

Here are the Final Rosters.

Adam

Guard: Graham Safford ’15, Dan Wohl ’15, Johnny McCarthy ’18, Jake Brown ’17

Forward: Dylan Sinnickson ’15, John Swords ’15, Rashid Epps ’16, Shay Ajayi ’16, Ajani Santos ’16, Marcus Delpeche ’17

Joe

Guard: Luke Westman ’16, Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15, Joseph Lin ’15, Lucas Hausman ’16, Jaquann Starks ’16

Forward: Chris Hudnut ’16, Zuri Pavlin ’17, Hunter Merryman ’15, Hunter Sabety ’17, David George ’17

Power Rankings: 12/3 Edition

Malcolm Delpeche '17 dunks against Colby (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)
Malcolm Delpeche ’17 dunks against Colby (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)

Still early on in the season, and having very few inter-conference games to look at, we give you the power rankings thus far. Given that it is early, last year’s results still linger but hold less merit now than our preseason predictions. This week we’ll look at what’s working  and what’s not for teams around the league.

1. Middlebury (6-0) – Quick out of the gate were the Panthers as they have earned this weeks number one spot. As predicted, Middlebury is led by senior Dylan Sinnickson ’15. The 6’5″ forward is in the top five of the NESCAC in rebounds per game (12.3) and points per game (19.5). That isn’t to say that Sinnickson is the only source of power for this team. Scoring 86.3 points per game, second to only Amherst, and only allowing 65.3 points per game from their opponents, Middlebury is rolling over most of their opponents thus far.

2. Amherst (4-0) – After only playing four games, Amherst has still proven to retain its high-octane offense that fueled its success last year. The Jeffs lead the league in points per game with 94, in part because of their depth on offense. In their first three games, their leading point scorer has been different every game, all with 17 points. In addition, two of their big-name players, F David George ’17 and G Connor Green ’15 are nearly matching each other in points scored, George with 13.7 and Green with 14.0, respectively.

3. Bates (6-0) – Bates has showed its determination to avenge last year’s disappointing season. Their victory over Colby last night asserted that they have exorcised their demons and are much more balanced as well going forward. Their early season victory over Babson is also looking better after Babson beat Bowdoin handily. A jack of all trades kind of team, they are middle of the pack in points scored (73.7) and points allowed (66.0), but so far their consistency on both ends of the floor seems to be a huge factor in their success.

4. Hamilton (6-0) – The story of Hamilton’s quick start stems largely from their success on defense. So far, they are first in the league in points allowed with 58.3 per game. The Continentals lead the league in steals (8.8) and blocks (5.7) per game, which has allowed them to get quick points in transition. Ajani Santos ’16 has been a large part in solidifying their defense with a league leading 2.6 blocks per game. It will be interesting to see how Hamilton’s defense holds up against the skillful stock of NESCAC players after Christmas break.

5. Bowdoin (4-1) – The Polar Bears are off to a good start this season, led by center John Swords ’15. The 7’0″ center is leading the team in points (14.8), rebounds (11.2), and blocks (1.6). Many of the worries about the defense have not come to roost as opponents are averaging only 59.6 points. The next few days will tell us a lot about how good this team really can be. Bowdoin faces Bates and Colby this week in non-conference action.

6. Williams (6-2) – Williams has had a decent start but has shown some weakness with the loss of the Michael Mayer ’14 and Taylor Epley ’14, along with Duncan Robinson ’17. After starting 0-2, the Ephs have put together a six game winning streak. While their offense has been strong, averaging 81.5 points per game, their defense has been a point of struggle for the Ephs. So far they have allowed 72.4 points per game, which is second to last in the league. Defense wins championships, as they say, so it is crucial for Williams to shore things up in this area if they want a shot at the championship.

7. Trinity  (4-2) – Although Trinity has all five starters returning from last year, so far they have yet to put it all together. Recent weeks have seen some improvement after a very uneven start. Seeing as it is still very early in the season, their is room for much improvement from the Bantams who are scoring under 70 points per game. The Bantams are still trying to find their star player (guard Jaquann Starks ’16 appears the guy most likely to step up) who can lead them down the stretch.

8. Wesleyan (5-2) – The Cardinals have looked very good on paper, scoring 75.6 points per game and allowing only 61.1, and although they have two losses, they are still in a good position for a successful season. Losing to Williams in overtime 85-77 shows that they can play with teams ranked above them.

9. Colby (5-3) – While records don’t tell the whole story, Colby’s less-than-desirable start has dropped them to number nine in this weeks rankings. They are a good 5-3 team at that, as they lost to Bates by only 6 and held them to under 80 points, Colby has plenty of time to gain ground in the league. Forward Chris Hudnut ’16 has been in control of this team, and the league at that, with 82 rebounds (1st in league) and 160 points (2nd in league) thus far. Look for him to continue to take control of this team later in the season.

10. Tufts (2-3) – The Jumbos are off to a tough start, despite all the talent they have going into this season. Their number one issue at this point has been on offense. Averaging a league worst 60.6 points per game has put more pressure on their defense to keep them in games. Tufts will need more consistent production from their starters. Center Hunter Sabety ’17 so far has put up 14.0 points per game, good, but not good enough unless he can find more offensive help from his guards.

11. Connecticut College (2-3) – Conn College rounds out the power rankings at number eleven, and so far they have struggled in both phases of the game. Offensively, they are ranked 8th with 73.2 points per game, and defensively they are at the bottom, allowing their opponents 76.4 points per game. Center Zuri Pavlin ’17 brings a force under the basket, leading the league in rebounds per game with 12.4, but like Tufts’ Sabety, needs more help from the supporting cast to get the Camels back on track.

Getting Into the Groove: Stock Report 11/24

Hayden Rooke-Ley '15 talking to Coach Kevin App (courtesy of Williams Athletics)
Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 talking to Coach Kevin App (courtesy of Williams Athletics)

Now that a full week of games is in the books, we can step back a little bit and dive into some of the early trends emerging. The first game between NESCAC teams happened over the weekend. If Williams’ overtime victory over Wesleyan was any indication, then the NESCAC regular season should be as wide-open as we are hoping.

A major theme is how the sophomore class is asserting themselves as the major playmakers around the league. From players like Zuri Pavlin ’17 and Harry Rafferty ’17 who were already starters from day one to others like Mike Greenman ’17 and Joseph Kuo ’17 who are delivering with increased playing time, sophomores are difference-makers on almost every team in the NESCAC.

Stock Up

Center David George ’17 (Amherst): The guard play for the Jeffs has been a little uneven, but George has delivered on the promise he showed down the stretch of 2013 to help keep Amherst undefeated. The sophomore’s 7.7 rebounds per game, of which 3.7 are offensive rebounds, are no surprise given his size and athleticism. His offensive game, while still undeniably still somewhat underdeveloped, is unbelievably efficient. He is averaging 13.7 points per game on 75% shooting, the second highest percentage in the NESCAC behind John Swords ’15. Unlike last year when George was often surrounded by shooters on the court, Amherst is playing with two bigs most of the time. He is working with less space to work with but is having no problems scoring with ease. Having two big men in the game at once is also a big reason why Amherst has a rebounding margin of +20 so far.

Guard Jake Brown ’17 (Middlebury): Last year Brown established himself as a dogged defender and player capable of getting into the lane. This year he is going full Rondo as a table-setter for the talented Middlebury wings. He leads the league with 6.5 assists per game despite playing less than 24 minutes a game because Middlebury has been involved in a few blowouts already. He is able to get into the lane with ease and kick it out to Matt St. Amour ’17 or find a cutting Dylan Sinnickson ’15. Though he isn’t scoring much, he showed himself capable of filling Joey Kizel’s role of hitting big shots at the end of games when he hit the go ahead jumper with 30 seconds left against Clark yesterday. Brown will likely play less than 30 minutes a game because of the presence of talented youngster Jack Daly ’18. That should allow him to continue his frenetic pace as he leads the Middlebury fast break game.

Guard Hayden Rooke-Ley ’15 (Williams): The Ephs have struggled out of the gate, but there have been some bright spots so far. The fact that Rooke-Ley has become absolutely locked in as a shooter is one of the brightest. In a blowout of Johnston State, he set a Williams’ record by going 12-15 from beyond the three point line. He did not even attempt another shot from the field or a foul shot. Rumors have it he actually did not go inside of the three point line on offense all game (not actually). What makes the Johnston State game even more impressive is that two days before he went 0-9 from the field, including 0-7 from deep. He was able to fight through a couple of tough games at the beginning of the year before hitting his stride. Yet perhaps the best statistic Rooke-Ley has going so far is his free throw shooting. He is a perfect 28 for 28 from the stripe through four games. No other player has made more than 22 free throws and only one player has even attempted more than 28. That is crazy.

Stock Down

Tufts’ Shooting: The return of Tom Palleschi ’16 made Jumbo fans ecstatic over the idea of him teaming with Hunter Sabety ’17 as an unstoppable duo inside. The early returns for Tufts have been subpar, but that is not actually because of any problems in the interior. The Tufts offense is struggling because there is not enough shooting right now. The Jumbos are shooting 25.8% from three, the second lowest percentage in the conference. Ben Ferris ’15, Ryan Spadaford ’16 and Stephn Haladyna ’16 were supposed to supply most of the outside shooting. And while Spadaford has hit half of his threes through two games, Ferris and Haladyna are both below 25%. It gets even worse when you combine that with the Jumbos hitting less than 60% of their free throws.

Bates’ Depth: The Bobcats have gotten off to a great start beating two NCAA tournament teams from 2013 on their way to a 3-0 start. The reasons for the quick start are pretty simple. Mike Boornazian ’16 and Graham Safford ’15 are the best backcourt in the NESCAC and have played great so far. Yet, Bates might be overly reliant on those two players. They account for 51.6% of the scoring, 36.8% of the rebounding, and 65.8% of the assists overall for Bates. Throw in center Marcus Delpeche ’17, enjoying an uptick of production this season, into that equation and the numbers become even more ridiculous: 65% scoring, 56% rebounding, and 77% assists. A big reason for Bates slumping down the stretch was because Safford could not continue his high level of play down the stretch. Bates needs other players to step up in order to maintain better balance and not be overly reliant on the play of a few players.

Amherst Team Preview: Jeffs Reload, Not Rebuild

Coach Dave Hixon cuts down the nets.
Coach Dave Hixon cuts down the nets.

Amherst Lord Jeffs

2013-2014 Season: 27-4 (9-1 NESCAC), first in NESCAC, won NESCAC tournament, reached NCAA Final Four

Head Coach: David Hixon, 37th year

Starters Returning: 2

G Connor Green ’16

F David George ‘17

Breakout Player: Eric Conklin ’17

Conklin is a 6’6″ 235 pound forward who transferred from the University of Arizona this year. He is yet another big body who will punish NESCAC teams in the post. Playing time might be hard to come by because of all the other front court players on the Amherst roster, though. If he can show that he has a developed mid-range or three-point shooting game, then he will carve out an important role for the Jeffs.

Projected Starting Five:

Jayde Dawson-Gordon (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)
Jayde Dawson-Gordon (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

G Jayde Dawson-Gordon ’17

Dawson-Gordon arrives in Amherst as a transfer from Division-I Fairleigh-Dickinson. He had a fairly (I crack myself up sometimes with this stuff) disappointing freshman year, and transferring down is not an automatic indicator of success. Still, with no established point guard on the roster, the opportunity is there for Dawson to take the job and run with it, but returners Jeff Racy ’17 and Reid Berman ’17 will also push for minutes in the backcourt, and both had strong season openers.

 

Connor Green (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)
Connor Green (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

G Connor Green 

Green is the seasoned vet that returns this year for the Lord Jeffs. With the losses of Tom Killian ’14, David Kalema ’14,  and Aaron Toomey ’14, Green has huge shoes to fill as the experienced leader on a young team that has only one senior. After averaging 17.9 points per game and 5.8 rebounds, Green could be in the running for Player of the Year honors in 2014-15. He is a bull of a player who is a somewhat streaky shooter from the outside. He will have a lot more responsibilities in creating offense for the Jeffs later in the shot clock.

Johnny McCarthy (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)
Johnny McCarthy (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

G Johnny McCarthy ’18

It seems like Amherst tends to have a high impact freshman more often than not, and McCarthy is that player this season. His jump shot bears a passing resemblance to that of departed guard/forward Killian. He should bring a similar skill set as an athletic slasher and defender who is the college equivalent of the NBA’s 3 and D player. His ability to play from day one is vital given the dearth of experienced guards on the Amherst roster.

 

David George (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)
David George (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

F David George

George is a freak of a Division-III athlete. He became a major factor when Pollack (see below) succumbed to injury last year, and only got better as the year progressed. He is a difference maker on defense, where he swatted 80 shots last season, and despite only averaging 23.7 minute per game, he hauled down 5.9 rebounds per contest. He will likely be asked to do a bit more on the offensive side this season, and he should be up for the challenge. George only netted 6.6 points per game but was very efficient, shooting at a 53 percent clip. Get ready for a monster season from the sophomore.

Ben Pollack (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)
Ben Pollack (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

F Ben Pollack ’16

Pollack is no slouch on the defensive end himself, as he swatted 23 shots in his injury-shortened sophomore campaign, and was even better than George from the floor, shooting 57 percent with 8.1 points per game. With George and Pollack together with all the other big men coming off the bench, teams will have a hard time in the lane on both sides of the court when they match up with Amherst. The 6’8″ Jacob Nabatoff ’17 got the start over Pollack in the season opener, but the two played similar minutes. Expect this division of playing time to continue unless one player separates himself.

 

Everything Else:

The Lord Jeffs are coming off their third straight NESCAC Championship and a Final Four, but were shocked by the Ephs in the NCAAs after topping Williams thrice during the season and NESCAC tournament. They have a lot of talent to replace since Toomey, Kalema and Killian, all double digit scorers last season, graduated, yet Amherst still comes in at number two in the D3Hoops.com preseason poll. The coaching staff expects that they will rely heavily on George and Green to carry the load. It will be interesting to see if the two D-I transfers, Dawson and Conklin, can make an impact from day one. They have flown relatively under the radar but it shouldn’t be long until word spreads about them both.

Junior captain Pollack, recovering from an ACL injury, was cleared not long ago to return to practice, so he may have to work his way back into the rotation slowly, but once he is healthy he will be a force for Amherst. In the meantime, Nabatoff, a face up shooter who can stretch the floor, will get a good chunk of minutes in the front court along with George and Pollack. Despite all the question marks resulting from the graduation of the spectacular 2014 class, Hixon has proven that he is able to reload, not rebuild, and Amherst should be just as much of a player in the NESCAC and NCAA title races as ever.

Basketball Season Predictions

The season is upon us today, and our season predictions get you ready for it. We run down the order we think teams will finish and which ones will make the NCAA tournaments. Then we make our predictions for Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

A special thanks to Ethan Drigotas, a Bowdoin student, for doing the editing on the last couple of videos. Hope you have enjoyed the videos and we will have the rest of our previews out today. Here is to the NESCAC teams opening the season by going 10-0 today.